It goes without saying that painting your home is no small undertaking. That said, few things are as quick and effective as a fresh coat of paint for improving not only the look of your home and boosting curb appeal. Paint is one of the least expensive ways to revive the look of your home. Because you’ll want to preserve the wood and keep your home looking it’s best for many years to come, you will want to use the best quality covering available.

Although I doubt the Earl of Chesterfield ever held a paintbrush much less painted a house, the words certainly ring true when it comes to painting your home. We contacted Brendan Radtke, a professional painter in Columbus, Ohio.

“Consider painting your home an investment.” With that in mind, you want to use the highest quality paint you can get. It’s formulated to protect the wood in your home. Buying the best exterior paint will not only help to protect and beautify, you may avoid having to repaint for 6 to 10 years.

By doing it yourself, you will save money, but it’s a serious time commitment that you’ll want to plan for and give it the attention it deserves. Survey your home with a critical eye to determine if there are holes to fill, trim needs repaired or replaced. Searching for how much scraping must be done, where mildew may need to be removed or power washed.

“Most dirt and dust can be scrubbed or wiped off. Every deck needs power washed, but not every house needs it. If you power wash on a Monday, you’ll want to be sure to let it dry thoroughly before painting. Wait to paint until Thursday.”  Removing old peeling or flaking paint is a must and may even require sanding to smooth the edges. In order for the new paint to adhere properly, the surface must be free of dust dirt. If surfaces support mildew, that must be cleaned. If it rained recently, you can employ the “sidewalk test” which is if the sidewalks are dry your house is dry enough to paint.

Brendan stated that a lot of homes have far more cracks, gaps, and knotholes than they might expect. Because caulk is an inexpensive remedy he recommends not skimping. “There’s just no way to get enough paint into a crack to protect the home. When water gets in there, it starts rotting the wood, and you can’t see it because it’s working under the paint. Most homeowners forget about caulk.”

Anywhere two boards meet, water can potentially collect water and joins should be caulked. The idea is to prevent water from getting in and causing wood rot, which can cause leaks.  An average sized, three-bedroom house commonly needs between 8-10 tubes of caulk.

“If you don’t use enough, then all the money you spend on the paint, even the best paint, is wasted.” Most plain silicone caulk, though waterproof, isn’t paintable and that’s something to be aware of. He recommends buying any paintable caulk, but personally prefers a blend of silicone and acrylic. Brendan’s secret sauce?  Siliconized Acrylic Latex caulk, which has the best of both and can flex with temperature ranges we get in Ohio. Painting with a primer adds an extra layer .of protection to the exterior and primes the caulk.

Many high-quality paints have good durability. Consumer Search online recently posted an article listing Behr Premium Ultra at around $35 and Valspar Duramax around $40. Brendan has used most of the major top end paint brands, recommends priming which preps the surface to accept the paint and two coats of paint. He stands behind Sherwin Williams Emerald.

Although it’s pricey at $75 a gallon, he points out that SW offers quarterly specials with significant savings between 30-40% for those who sign up for their sales notifications. Although Emerald is a latex based paint, once it’s dry, it doesn’t come off, even if you scrub it with a Brillo pad. Since discovering it, he uses nothing else, even professionally, and used it to paint his own house because he was so impressed with its durability. He appreciates that until it dries, it flows well and cleans up with water.

If you remember to look at your painting project as an investment, lengthening the life of your home, it will be easier to spend the necessary money to do the job well. In the end, you will have beautiful and lasting results.

We’d love to have you come by our website at OhioCapitalMortgage.com or follow us on Facebook or @OhioCapital